New Brain Cancer Treatments

New therapies for cancer are being developed all the time. When a therapy shows promise, it is studied in a lab and improved as much as possible. It is then tested in clinical trials involving people with cancer.

Through brain cancer clinical trials, researchers test the effects of new medications on a group of volunteers with brain cancer. Some patients with brain cancer are reluctant to take part in clinical trials for fear of getting no treatment at all for their brain cancer.

Clinical trials are available for virtually every kind of cancer.

The advantage of clinical trials is that they offer new therapies that may be more effective than existing therapies or have fewer side effects.

The disadvantage is that the therapy has not been proven to work or may not work in everyone.

Many people with cancer are eligible for participation in clinical trials.

To find out more, ask your oncologist. A list of clinical trials is available at the web site of the National Cancer Institute.

Follow-Up

Once a brain tumor is diagnosed, you need to be very careful to keep all appointments with consultants and your primary health care provider. In general, people with brain cancer are at increased risk for additional medical problems and, potentially, recurrence of cancer or a worsening of their symptoms.

Brain Cancer Survival Rate

Survival rates in brain cancer vary widely. The major factors that influence survival are the type of cancer, its location, whether it can be surgically removed or reduced in size, your age, and other medical problems.

In general, younger patients have a better prognosis.

Brain cancer that has spread (or metastasized) from somewhere else in the body is the most common type. Survival rates depend on the original cancer and other factors.

Treatment for most types of brain cancer is available and will often give you a better chance of survival. Discuss treatment options and best-estimated prognosis with your cancer team.